The digital yuan has been used to make 360m transactions worth a total of more than 100bn yuan (US$14bn) since China began piloting the central bank digital currency (CBDC) in December 2019, up from total cumulative transaction values worth 87.6bn yuan (US$12bn) at the end of 2021, according to the People’s Bank of China (PBOC)... More
Samsung Wallet is to roll out in Bahrain, Denmark, Finland, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Norway, Oman, Qatar, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates, enabling users to store their digital payment, loyalty, membership and identity cards, digital keys, boarding passes and other credentials on their compatible Samsung Galaxy smartphone... More
Transportation agencies in Shanghai in China have launched a Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) app that enables users to pay for their journeys by bus, ferry and metro services, book taxi rides and find and pay for parking spaces across the city from their smartphone... More
Eligible passengers aged 65 and over using Monterey-Salinas Transit (MST) buses in the US state of California will now automatically receive a discount on their fares when they tap to pay for journeys with their debit or credit card using MST’s fare-capped open loop contactless ticketing system without needing to provide any additional proof of eligibility... More
Residents of eight French departments will soon be able to verify their identity when accessing healthcare services and claim reimbursement for medical fees by scanning a digital version of their Carte Vitale health insurance card stored on their smartphone with an NFC reader or presenting a QR code to service providers... More
Consumers in Taiwan can now purchase an upgraded version of the EasyCard stored value smart payments and transit card that they can top up directly from their NFC smartphone without needing to use a reload or top-up machine at a metro station or convenience store... More
Music fans in the USA can now purchase physical cards similar to gift or trading cards that allow them to listen to songs and albums on their NFC smartphone and add them to an in-app music library by scanning an NFC chip embedded in the card rather than by using streaming services such as Spotify or Apple Music... More
Mastercard has launched the first contactless payment cards to incorporate enhanced quantum-resistant security features compliant with EMVCo’s newly released EMV Contactless Kernel Specification... More
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is to build a prototype digital rupee and test it in a range of scenarios and use cases as part of its “phased implementation strategy” for introducing a central bank digital currency (CBDC)... More
Île-de-France Mobilités (IDFM) has begun phasing out the sale of physical tickets for journeys on the Paris Metro as the first step towards accepting contactless or mobile fare payments only... More
Google’s new Pixel 7 Pro smartphone offers both NFC and ultra wideband (UWB) functionality while the two other devices released alongside it – the Pixel 7 and the Pixel Watch – will support NFC but not UWB... More
Merchants across the US will soon be able to accept biometric payments authenticated by a customer’s fingerprint using a point-of-sale (POS) solution launched by payment processing provider Green Payments... More
Passengers travelling on domestic flights from 14 airports in South Korea can now verify their identity with their hand when checking in for their flight if they register biometric data with one of nine Korean banks and financial institutions before they travel... More
Consumers hiring bicycles from micromobility provider Swapfiets are the first to be able to sign up for a new service from Dutch bank ABN Amro that enables them to use a single app to create a digital ID and then use it both to sign up and to pay for third-party services... More
EMVCo has officially launched the EMV Contactless Kernel Specification detailing the features and requirements for the software used to process transactions in payment acceptance devices such as point-of-sale terminals and ATMs that will simplify and advance global payment acceptance, enhance security, improve transaction speeds and support more reliable data transmission... More
PARTNER NEWS: STMicroelectronics has launched the first NFC reader for Car Connectivity Consortium (CCC) digital car key applications to be certified according to NFC Forum CR13 specifications, enabling developers and manufacturers to offer enhanced features and performance and making it easier to secure product certification... More
Nearly one third of UK consumers believe that carrying a physical ID document is “outdated” (32%) and nearly half would prefer not to have to carry a physical document as proof of identity (45%), a survey commissioned by the UK Post Office has found... More
The UK government has published an updated version of The Highway Code governing the use of public roads that incorporates a clause permitting drivers to make a contactless payment at a contactless payment terminal from their vehicle using their mobile device... More
Curve digital wallet users across Europe can now add multiple payment cards to a range of wearable NFC devices including rings, bracelets, watches and pens and use them to make contactless payments via the Fidesmo Pay wearable payments platform... More
The European Commission is planning to propose the legislation required for the introduction of the digital euro as a central bank digital currency issued by the European Central Bank (ECB) in 2023, EU commissioner Mairead McGuinness has confirmed... More